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2 soldiers killed in S. Philippine clash

Xinhua, December 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

Two government troopers were killed and one was injured in an attack staged by suspected Abu Sayyaf members in Sulu of southern Philippines on Monday.

Maj. Filemon Tan, spokesman of the military's Western Mindanao Command, said the terrorists commenced the attack on the headquarters of the 22nd Marine Company around 2 a.m. local time.

Tan said troops manning the camp, located in Sitio Palan in Mampallan village in Talipao town, defended their facility from the fully-armed militants.

He said the armed group withdrew after a brief firefight, incurring undetermined number of casualties.

Operations are ongoing against the perpetrators.

The Abu Sayyaf is holding several foreign and Filipino hostages in Sulu, including a Dutch wildlife photographer abducted in Tawi-tawi in February 2012.

President Benigno Aquino ordered an intensified campaign against the Abu Sayyaf last month when the group beheaded a Malaysian hostage in Indanan town they kidnapped last May in Sabah, Malaysia. Endit